As Australia moves closer to formalising its long-awaited digital asset regulatory framework, one of the country’s most established trading platforms has made a decisive move.
Melbourne-founded Pepperstone has officially launched Pepperstone Crypto, entering the spot cryptocurrency market at a pivotal moment for the sector. The expansion signals a broader shift: digital assets are no longer operating at the fringes of finance, but increasingly within structured regulatory and institutional environments.
For years, Australia’s crypto ecosystem has operated in a state of regulatory transition. Policymakers have progressively signalled tighter oversight and clearer licensing expectations, encouraging stronger governance standards across exchanges. The result is a market beginning to differentiate between global offshore operators and locally anchored platforms embedded within Australia’s compliance framework.
Pepperstone’s launch lands squarely within that context.
Built on the company’s existing trading infrastructure, the new platform extends Pepperstone’s reach beyond crypto CFDs into direct spot digital assets. While the firm has processed significant crypto derivative volumes for years, the dedicated spot exchange represents a strategic evolution designed to meet rising demand for transparent, institutional-grade execution.
More than six million Australians have owned or invested in digital assets. As participation has broadened from early adopters to mainstream investors, expectations around platform stability, liquidity depth and operational resilience have increased accordingly. Traders are seeking infrastructure that mirrors traditional financial markets: robust compliance controls, reliable execution and transparent pricing.
Pepperstone’s Group CEO, Tamas Szabo noted that as digital asset participation broadens, expectations around transparency and infrastructure have risen. Pepperstone Crypto has been designed to meet those standards, combining spot trading functionality with established compliance controls.
Pepperstone Crypto introduces a flat fee structure across supported spot assets, avoiding complex tiered pricing models. The company is registered with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange and has applied its existing legal, risk and compliance architecture to the new platform. Australian dollar deposits and withdrawals are supported, reinforcing its positioning as a domestically anchored alternative in a market frequently dominated by offshore exchanges.a
The move reflects a wider global convergence between traditional finance and digital assets. As the sector matures, scale and governance are becoming defining competitive advantages. Established financial platforms entering crypto markets are accelerating the normalisation of digital assets within mainstream portfolios.
For Australia, the timing is notable. Regulatory clarity has the potential to attract innovation onshore rather than pushing capital and talent offshore. The participation of a major Australian trading house strengthens the country’s ambition to remain competitive in financial technology while balancing consumer protection with market development.
Pepperstone has indicated that additional cryptocurrencies will be added over time as the platform expands. The company’s broader CFD business processes billions in monthly crypto trading volume, providing a liquidity base and operational experience that may support further growth.
As digital asset oversight becomes more structured, the next phase of crypto’s evolution in Australia is likely to be defined less by volatility narratives and more by infrastructure, governance and institutional engagement.
Pepperstone’s expansion suggests that transition is already in motion.
